So without further ado, a warm welcome to you Strange Seawolf, tell us a bit about you, what genre do you write?
I think genres are a bit like gender: for a lot of people this form of categorization is a helpful concept and there is nothing bad about it. For me, though, it seems to needlessly narrow things down. I write stories about characters. All my writing develops from characters and what happens is defined by characters. They also define in which world I will have to build for them. For Herald Petrel I’d say it is Science Fiction although a reviewer recently categorized it as “Dystopian But Fun Space Opera”, and I am all for it!
So, that’s settled for this universe but who knows what the next characters will force me to write?
Do you have another job or are you a full time author?
Ha, yes, I do have another job. Writing is purely a hobby and an escape from reality for me. At daytime I am working for a database company. My job there is rather versatile, I train and help clients to use our software better, write the odd SQL here and there, and also do webinars and presentations. It is a database for a very niche field and I think I was born to work in that very niche field, so it fits and at the moment, I like it.
When did you start writing?
In elementary school. Okay, no, seriously, I always have written non-fiction. Writing fiction came late. 2019, after the death of my husband, I’d say. I wrote a lot of fanfic to escape, a concept that I hadn't known until I discovered Doctor Who at the same time.
As a side-note: I know it is popular to see fan-fiction as just a “training” to “real” writing, but I oppose that notion. For me it is an own genre with its own laws, challenges, and beauty. Sure, the main characters were created by someone else. But if you really want to write good fan-fiction you have to get the voice of those characters right. With your own characters it is you who defines what is “in character” or not. With fan-fiction, thousands of people have seen the same actors on screen and they will judge you by how convincingly you are able to make them see another believable story with them in their minds. So, while I also write original, I will never stop writing fan-fiction for characters that resonated with me or for series that were cancelled with threads dangling.
What 3 things are guaranteed to make you smile?
Cats. Gosh, I am predictable like that but show me the image of a cute cat and it is an instant smile.
Friends and colleagues. Especially colleagues who became friends. I am privileged to have gotten to know quite some goofballs in my life who never fail to put a big, silly grin on my face.
Good food. Put some lovely food in front of me and it (and you) will be greeted with a resounding purr and happy smile.
Do you have any pets?
I always had cats. Right now, only a very old tomcat is left who is allowed to spend his remaining lives as a privileged and spoilt solo pasha.
Unlike my other cat who sometimes simply blocked the keyboard by slumping over it, he just silently judges me if I spent too much time writing.
Who is your favourite author? Do they influence your writing or are they a total break from the sort of thing you write?
I don’t have a favorite author, I don’t think my brain works that way.
I grew up with my father’s Science Fiction collection so I was exposed to and influenced by Stanislaw Lem, E.E.Smith and Douglas Adams. I am a huge fan of Terry Pratchett, especially his Discworld and even more specifically his character Death, and I am eternally grateful to QuokkaMocha (check her writing out as well, you’ll find her on AO3 and Mastodon) for finally convince me to start reading this series.
My close friend and soul twin Panda Fedorko and I constantly inspire each other both in our original and fanfic writing.
Lately I enjoy reading across the Indie authors Mastodon brought to my doorstep and I fear I forget someone if I try to name them all. It would end up in a long list of recommendations which isn’t the intend of this question. Instead, go to the hashtags #PennedPossibilities and #WordWeavers to get a jump-start into an awesome community of writers, published and unpublished.
One shout out, though: The Winds and Pillar series by Hannah Steenbook doesn’t get by far enough love (“South Breaks” starts off rather gruesome so I thought it wasn’t for me since I am a soft bean but I was hooked with the third chapter and right now I impatiently wait to devour every new book as soon as it is out).
I think whatever I am reading will influence my writing but I have phases in which I write and phases in which I read and since there is no overlap of those phases I am not too worried about the genre I read.
Which book(s) are you reading at the moment?
None because I am in a writing phase. I do still have the two latest books of the Pitkirtly Mysteries by Cecilia Peartree to read (so much fun, seriously, if you like Scotland, cozy murder mysteries, and absolutely bonkers characters, that’s the series for you). And next up I’ll either tackle Watermyth by Anita Harris Satkunananthan or The Calling by Branwen OShea.
Where do you do most of your writing?
At my desk. I am boring like that. Sometimes on the balcony but that is an ergonomic nightmare.
Tell us about the character that you've written that you like the most - no spoilers!
Oh, picking favs is unfair, especially when it comes to characters. But let’s take Rafaela Louise Sanchez Gomez, Raffi for short. She’s the assistant of the main character in Herald Petrel, Captain Galahad, and while I can see several characters capable to take over if Galahad drops out, there is simply no one who could replace Raffi. She is a proud asexual and aromantic. She has absolutely no filter. She says what she thinks without worrying too much about the consequences. She is curious and loves investigating places and things that are absolutely none of her business. She also has no problems whatsoever to tell her boss he’s wrong and one of my favorite sentences I ever wrote for her is: "What mess did you manage to maneuver your heteroromantic arse into?" She has basically adopted Galahad because she felt he needed a daughter and she sometimes plays the role of the wise guide for him. Their relationship puts all common father-daughter or mentor-mentee tropes upside-down. I always cheer if I get to write a scene with Raffi.
What is your favourite biscuit?
Two: Maryland Choc Chip Cookies and McVitie’s Ginger Nuts. When I travel the UK, I try to pack as little as possible into my suitcase so I can restock my stash because it is rather expensive to get those in mainland Europe.
Tea or Coffee?
Depends. I can’t even function properly without having at least two big cups of Earl Grey in my system in the mornings. And usually, all my writing runs on tea. I do enjoy a coffee with colleagues, a big latte macchiato in a nice cafĂ©, or a strong espresso after lunch, though.
In the film of your life who would play you? (why)
Gosh, I do have one actress I would love to see in that and it is Cush Jumbo! Okay, no, wait. She doesn’t look like me. So, who looks like me? Lassie? Hmm, probably too old. All of them. Same with the wolf that played with Whatshisname? Costner? I mean, perhaps Pixar could animate my life? That would make a lot more sense. And, hey, then Cush could voice me. You would get that badass energy Cush radiates with a cute animated seawolf doing... database work. Okay, I might have to pimp my life a bit before I got material for more than 5 minutes of biopic. BRB. Now, If I could remember where I put that flyer of the Mt. Everest guided tours for wimps…
If you could genetically cross an animal and a vegetable, what would you pick and why?
Given both species consented, I’d cross a cabbage and a hedgehog. You’d get a cabbage that eats the snails that are lured into its vicinity. Probably nothing you can harvest then, though. And they make a hell of a noise when they grow shoots. Ah, well, no experiment is perfect, right?
And now your appetite is well and truly whetted, why not explore some links...
Here’s the universal book link to get Herald Petrel from your preferred retailer: https://books2read.com/HeraldPetrel
And here on Goodreads and Bookwyrm people say nice stuff about it.
Herald Petrel also has its own website https://fly.herald-petrel.com/
If you want to follow Strange Seawolf you can do so on Mastodon @strangeseawolf@mindly.social and on Instagram strange.seawolf (Strange Seawolf says "fairness warning: I haven’t figured out what I am doing there, if you see me posting weird stuff: no you haven’t!")
As someone who has read Herald Petrel I can really recommend it - first of all because I loved the diverse mix of characters, and when I say that I include aliens that are not just Star Trek style aliens with humanoid features and sexes but just different coloured skin or the odd face bump! These aliens are alien! And also because the story is exciting, and the space feels real, along with the challenges living on a spaceship brings.
Strange Seawolf image created by The Patrex
